Such great service! Food was so delicious and felt like a home cooked meal! And incredible views of…read morethe lake, If you are looking for a fun breakfast spot this is the place!

My dad took me here on my birthday or shortly after. Ive not been on the lake for a long time…read more He told me, you don't need to bring gear or bait. They will have it all. We had lunch and the waitress seemed less than concerned about the timeline. To getting on the boat, and finding out the gear was iffy. There was a cooler with some tired leeches in it. And although the crew was nice, it was not a great experience. One walleye and three perch for 20+ people. Some dude vaping and smoking back-and-forth, not far away from us, no one seemed particularly concerned about that. It was early afternoon and I suppose that fewer fish should be expected, but it was definitely not an exceptional experience. Somebody said they were selling the place. But my opinion is that they should do a lot more to take care of the customers they still have, before that happens... If that happens... Nice enough crew, but I think they should continue to take care of the customers they still have regardless...

I used to frequent this place LOT more, years back, before I started working second shift, but…read moreeven the last time I visited, which granted, WAS nearly a year ago now, this bar and grill was to die for. As a couple other reviews have mentioned, the cheesecake MAKES this place, and if you don't like cheesecake, well, I'd say don't bother going, but then you'd miss out on all the delicious FOOD and DRINKS they have to offer! I'm personally fond of the Reuben, and one other sandwich I can't think of the name of, but it's soaked in brandy or something... ‍ And I don't drink alcohol, or I'd have something to say about THAT, but I do know they have a variety of libations on tap, if that's what you're into. personally, I go for the non-alcoholic Shirley Temple, which is served with a and a ! Food-wise, I try'n stick with whatever the daily special is, though I tend towards seafood in general. The steaks are cooked to perfection, as is everything they make!

Cheesecake makes this place. Need a smaller and more efficient menu. Make it simple. If only they…read morehad chicken fried chicken with mashed potatoes and gravy.

We floated over seeking a bloody Mary before the wedding we were attending, dock is accessible but…read moredoes not have bumpers or cleats. We only went in for a couple of drinks, got served in a short amount of time, a large space, with pull tabs behind the bar, we did not get food, there was a small local group playing Bridge, staff were pleasant, we got what we needed and had no concerns.

Great place, 8 pulltab boxes behind bar. Meat raffle and horse races every Friday night. There is…read morekaraoke every Friday and Saturday. Occasional bands inside and out. Nice dock to use in summer. Very friendly atmosphere. Lots of locals having fun. Very friendly staff. Would definitely check this place out. Open year round.

I was in Brainerd for a Farm to Kids Roadshow - with my Renewing the Countryside hat on connecting…read morefarmers to schools for local food sourcing. So I thought I'd check in on one of my favorite chefs Matt Annand (featured in the MN Homegrown cookbook) and sadly Prairie Bay is closed. But he's now running the show at Notch*8. He's still bringing the good stuff - elevated but recognizable supper-club style wedge salad, tender brisket on focaccia with an onion soup jus that was so satisfying. (Literally- I could make a post about the jus) The show stopper? This off menu (but I'm told it could become a regular) desert has no name as of yet - but I'll give you my take... Zabaione takes a trip to the lakes region and cosplays as a roasted marshmallow - falls in love with the local berries and settles down in a house with a view. Make sense? The zabaione had a perfect balance/consistency- but the brûlée at the end was brilliant. I was here "out of season" for local fruit but I know Matt is committed to local sourcing - so an excellent dish will only get better with "in season" fruit. (I'd love to have seen a kernza flour + hazelnut cookie on top - but that may be gilding the lily) great job crew!

We stopped at Notch 8 to check it out. We sat at the bar and Ryan waited on us. We ordered the…read moreDumplings, which were fabulous. Also we ordered the Ahi Tuna Asian Bowl, another delicious meal. I do have to say that Ryan made our experience perfect, he was very helpful with the specials and service! He is a gem!

My son and I ate here a few weeks ago while camping across the lake. We were looking for a fish…read morefry and I saw this as a recommendation. This is definitely a place where the employees and the locals have a good time and joke around, and sometimes if you are not a local, you don't receive the same level of attention. For the most part, refills of the AYCE fish were pretty quick. The fish was crispy and delicious, and the price was very reasonable. The only complaint was that there was mention on other sources (maybe outdated) about what was included. As of June 2026, the fish is AYCE, the sidewinders (fries) are not. We ordered an extra serving of those because they were delicious. Great joint and I would definitely come back again!

We're having a girls weekend and we're so excited to go here. Unfortunately the bartenders were so…read morerude and had attitude while serving us that we had to leave the bar and go sit at a table. Sad because we were looking for a fun place and then left because it was uncomfortable.

I brought a group of 20 up for a fishing charter. We called toucans to let them know they had a…read moregroup coming. It took them over 60 minutes to deliver a grilled chicken wrap and a BLT, totally unacceptable. Some of my group ordered with at least 90 minutes before the charter was supposed to leave and they didn't even get their food, totally unacceptable. Some of my party got their food but didn't get what they ordered. Neither myself, nor any of my party will be back.

Stopped by on our boat... we were able to tie our boat to the dock while we had lunch. Service was…read moregood, prices were reasonable (a bit high for the area, we thought), and the burgers were great! If coming by boat, be sure to bring fenders with long ropes. And watch out for the cleats on the dock as they can be hard to see, and not friendly for bare feet.

W E D D I N G V E N U E…read more Under the new management, I attended a small intimate wedding ceremony on the shores of Mille Lacs. There was a nicely manicured area and a perfect aisle with chairs on both sides. This was a very picturesque site, and just perfect for the 20+ guests. If you plan on having your intimate wedding here, forgo the canned music and have a real musician play guitar, violin, or any stringed instrument. It will take your experience to a higher level, and make it a magical Fairytale Wedding! It truly will! M I C R O W E D D I N G H E R E!

Resort seems to have fallen on hard times related to money. All "resort amenities" were closed…read moreJune 2025. Golf course was not in good shape, and you could see great lack of general maintenance and groundskeeping on the property. Stick and tree branches that had fallen that had clearly been there for a while.

Ordered the taco pizza for carryout. Really good, and I am picky about taco pizzas. Nice chewy…read morecrust. I do think it was a overpriced, but what isn't nowadays? Use cash as they charge you a credit card fee.

Good food that's reasonably priced. We sometimes dine in and sometimes do takeout. Never bowled…read morethere. Not many people seem to either. More people play their video games than bowl.